SANS' Second Annual NetWars Tournament of Champions to be Held in Conjunction with SANS Cyber Defense Initiative in Washington, D.C.

BETHESDA, Md., Nov. 7, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- SANS today announced the second annual NetWars Tournament of Champions will take place in conjunction with SANS Cyber Defense Initiative (CDI), December 15 – 16, 2013 in Washington, D.C. Past NetWars tournament champions will face-off during this intense two day competition while new participants attempt to make a name for themselves among the cyber elite.

More than just a game, NetWars is an in-depth learning tool for security professionals. It helps participants hone their skills and provides valuable knowledge of where to expand skills to ensure security professionals stay current on the latest threats. For those who do well in the competition, NetWars can help open new doors and advance career opportunities.

"The NetWars Tournament of Champions pits the best and the brightest security professionals against each other to determine who has the greatest skills when it comes to solving today's toughest, real-world information security problems. To add to the challenge, over a hundred new participants will play alongside past champions, building their own skills, testing their mettle, and seeing if they have what it takes to be the next NetWars champion," said Ed Skoudis, Director of NetWars.

According to Jeff McJunkin (IT Specialist, City of Central Point) and a participant of SANS' inaugural NetWars Tournament of Champions in 2012, "There's always a challenge in cyber security. Whether it's NetWars, successfully breaching a network or website, or forging the perfect phishing email, security professionals must always be on their toes. NetWars allows participants to test their skills in so many different ways, which is what makes this event so appealing."

NetWars participants compete in a mock environment to test their defensive, analysis, and offensive cyber skills, fighting off intruders while trying to take over other target systems and networks. Skillsets range from that of entry level information security professionals honing their skills all the way up to grand masters of information security trying to prove their chops, the intensity of competition is palpable, yet always fun and entertaining.

About SANS InstituteThe SANS Institute was established in 1989 as a cooperative research and education organization. SANS is the most trusted and, by far, the largest source for world-class information security training and security certification in the world, offering over 50 training courses each year. GIAC, an affiliate of the SANS Institute, is a certification body featuring over 25 hands-on, technical certifications in information security. SANS offers a myriad of free resources to the InfoSec community including consensus projects, research reports, and newsletters; it also operates the Internet's early warning system—the Internet Storm Center. At the heart of SANS are the many security practitioners, representing varied global organizations from corporations to universities, working together to help the entire information security community. (www.SANS.org)